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Roller Derby Team Makes History- Rocket Miner

Duo brings roller derby to Sweetwater County- Green River Star

David Martin Editor | 0 commentsThe excitement of high-energy roller skate competition, with teammates sporting names like Andie Atomic Bomb and Sistah Wallop Her, may come to Sweetwater County next year.Miranda Samsel and Cara Kelsey, former members of the Naughty Pines Derby Dames team in Laramie, are working to create a derby team in Sweetwater County. The duo began to miss the action and camaraderie of the sport after moving to the area.“Your team is like your family,” Samsel said. “We’re in love with the sport and we miss it.”Roller derby is a sport in which all-women teams attempt to score by lapping members of the opposing team. Short matchups, called jams, are played where one person on a five-member squad is designated as the scoring member, refereed to as a “jammer.” An entire match is known as a bout. The remaining four members play both defense and offense by helping their jammer and block the opposing jammer.The sport is highly physical and often supported by the participants themselves.Wyoming currently has eight teams competing throughout Casper, Cheyenne, Gillette, Jackson and Laramie. The two seek people interested in being players, coaches and referees. However, they do need something else as well.“We’re homeless -- we would love a home,” Kelsey said.In Laramie, Samsel said the Naughty Pines practice throughout the year, with the exception of a one to two-month break in December. They lease gym space from the Laramie Plains Civic Center and compete in bouts at the city ice rink after the ice season ends. Bouts take place from April to October.Samsel said warehouse space could be utilized for the team as well.Samsel and Kelsey’s group can be found on Facebook by searching Sweetwater County Roller Derby.